Vail 02 - Crush (15 page)

“Look,” Vail said, “I’m not here to debate the merits of profiling. But I’m here. And to answer your question, yes, there’s validity to it.”

“Why
are
you here?”

“I wasn’t—”

“I asked for her help,” Brix said.

Vail looked at him, and again, tried to disguise her facial expression, which probably bordered on wide-mouthed shock.

“This is something beyond our knowledge base,” Brix said. “We probably could’ve done a decent job, muddled through it, missed some important nuances about this killer, and eventually caught the guy. But in my estimation, we’ve got a volatile situation here. And since we’re dealing with the lives of young women, I felt it was best to bring in the FBI. Before we had more victims, new victims, to deal with.”

Nance started to object. Brix held up a hand. “I don’t like Agent Vail’s methods, but she knows her shit. So unless Sheriff Owens has a problem, Vail stays and we move on. Sheriff?” Brix turned to Owens.

“I’ve been to the National Academy at Quantico,” he said, speaking ahead, not looking at the dignitaries. “Agent Vail was one of my instructors. She’s got my vote.”

Brix’s eyes scanned his guests’ faces. Hearing no objection, he said, “Okay, then. Let’s follow up on our assignments.”

“One observation,” Vail said, “before we go any further. This new victim helps us build on that ‘access concept’ I mentioned after we found Victoria Cameron. We now have three likely vics of the same offender. They were each found in different locations. That means we have three different access lists to evaluate. Access population A, the Silver Ridge wine cave; population B, the excavated Black Knoll cave; and population C, Vallejo. Unfortunately, because Vallejo was a body dump, we don’t know where she was killed. If we can reopen that investigation and determine where she was murdered, we can look for overlap on who’d have access to these three crime scenes. That’d help narrow the suspect pool.”

“Interesting,” Nance said.

Dixon nodded. “We can start with population A. Karen and I obtained the guest lists from Silver Ridge.”

Vail locked eyes with Brix, waiting for him to disclose to the group his ownership interest. He met her stare and held it until she looked away. Then he said, “The guest lists are being cross-referenced by officers I’ve got working the case behind the scenes. So far, nothing unusual has shown up. Only a handful of locals, half of them women. The others are being looked at. They’ll be interviewed to see if they’ve got alibis for the time in question. I’ll let you know if we get anything interesting.”

Fuller said, “Population B, the excavated cave, is a problem. There’s a gate on the property, but anyone could realistically bypass it. But if we’re assuming it’s not leaky, you’re looking at a lot of potential people, from housecleaners to caterers, to gardeners, to maintenance people. All will be granted access without much resistance. I don’t think your access theory is going to get us anywhere.”

Vail entertained thoughts of responding, but before she could speak, Lugo said, “I met with Kevin Cameron. Karen and Roxxann joined me and we asked him all the standard questions. He didn’t know anyone who’d want to harm Victoria. There was something about a family disagreement going back forty years or so between the owners of Silver Ridge and the Montalvo family.”

“And we spoke with Frederick Montalvo,” Dixon said. “We delivered
the news, and he was pretty broken up, as you’d imagine. Karen and I didn’t feel there’s much to this disagreement—”

“Hold on a second,” Mayor Prisco said. “The Montalvos and the owners of Silver Ridge have had a long-running feud and you don’t think it’s relevant?”

“We’re looking into everything,” Vail said. “But since we’re dealing with a serial killer, and since these types of things—bad blood between families—don’t fit with the psychopathy seen in the behaviors at the crime scene, it’s unlikely there’s a relationship. But as I said, we’re looking into it.” She again glanced at Brix.

Brix cleared his throat. “Just . . . have confidence that we know how to run an investigation. We’re good at this type of thing, Mayor.”

Prisco’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I’m sorry. I’ll—I’m just concerned, is all.”

“We’re all concerned,” Owens said. “That’s why we’re taking this very seriously.”

“And it’s why I think we need to take the next step,” Vail said. “If we want to accelerate this investigation, we want to push this killer into the open. We want to play to his weaknesses.”

Zimbrowski pushed his glasses up on his nose. “What weaknesses?”

“He’s a narcissist,” Vail said.

Fuller sat forward. “We don’t know that for sure.”

“I think we do. At least from what we’ve seen, there’s a good chance that’s what we’re dealing with.”

“And how does this impact your investigation?” Prisco asked.

“Narcissists feel they’re superior to everyone else. They recognize that what they’re doing is wrong, but they just don’t care. And they want credit for what they’ve done. One such case you may be familiar with is the Zodiac Killer from nineteen—”

“Don’t even say it,” Zimbrowski said.

“That case is still unsolved,” Prisco said. “If you start talking like that around here, people will absolutely freak out—”

“I don’t want to hear those words again,” Nance said. “In this room or outside it.”

Vail looked around the room, waiting for someone to object. All
the cops were looking down at the table or stimming with pens or the edge of their binders.

Finally, Vail said, “No disrespect, but I’m giving you advice on how to catch this killer. I can’t be swayed by your sensibilities about—whatever it is you’re worried about. Because this killer, if we can get him to communicate with us, will reveal information about himself we can use to catch him. And that’s vital, because right now, we’ve got shit. And
that’s
something to be worried about.”

There was quiet before the mayor asked, “How do we get him to communicate with us if we don’t know who he is?”

“We go public with this, we go on TV, the newspapers—”

“Are you out of your mind?” Fuller asked. “We’ll have widespread panic.”

Vail crossed her arms. “Sounds to me like you’ve read all of the Douglas and Ressler and Underwood books on profiling, Scott. You know what I’m saying is right.”

“I don’t know that. Those books don’t talk much about narcissism. Besides, you don’t know for sure this guy is a narcissist, so going public now is the wrong thing to do. Let’s get more evidence first, see more behaviors before we can determine if he’s really got Narcissistic Personality Disorder.”

Fuller, in throwing around medical terms, sounded authoritative and, judging by the way the suits were looking at him, had captured their attention. He also appeared to be saying what they wanted to hear.

“More behavior,” Vail said, “means more bodies. How long do you think you can keep this under wraps? And how upset are people going to be when they find out you knew you had a serial killer loose and you failed to warn them?”

“I challenge your theory of a serial killer,” Nance said.

Vail shook her head. “I’m not a politician, okay? I’m a cop. But I see what’s going on here. Understand this: I’m not worried about tourism levels or income to the state, or the federal government. I’m concerned with catching this guy before he kills again.”

“Thank you, Agent Vail,” Brix said. “And we appreciate your input. But this is our community, and we have to live with all the various interests
and forces that govern our local economy. Putting out a public notice may save the life of one person, but it’ll have a profound effect on thousands of people’s lives. If not tens of thousands. A lot of family businesses depend on the wine-growing and wine-selling economy. Sales tax on purchases, bed-and-breakfast room taxes, income taxes from the booming trade of people just being in town: restaurants, gift shops, stores. We tip that scale the wrong way, we may never recover.”

Nance added, “There’s a lot of competition from wine regions all over the world now. Washington state, Argentina, Chile, France, Italy. Not to mention other areas in California. We don’t want to jump the gun and cripple the Napa Valley in a way it might not be able to recover from financially.”

“We need more to go on before we go public,” Prisco said.

“And we need to be sure that going public is the right thing,” Fuller said. “I mean, contacting this guy may be the wrong way to go. He could look at it as a challenge, and really go off the deep end. And go on a killing spree. You see what I’m thinking?”

“What I’m
thinking
is that a little knowledge is very dangerous,” Vail said. “You’ve asked me here to help. I hate to say it, but sooner or later you’re going to have to go public with this. It’s our best chance at catching this killer.”

“I want you to promise,” Nance said, “that you won’t act without seeking the proper permission from the sheriff, whose office is spear-heading this investigation and who personally bears ultimate responsibility for the disposition of the case and its impact on the community.” He looked over at Owens, who did not react one way or another. “Do I need to make myself clearer, or do you understand what I’m saying?”

Vail stifled a chuckle. “I’m not an imbecile, Mr. Nance. I understand what’s driving you and I know exactly where you’re coming from. As to promising you what I will or will not do, I’m not going to do any such thing. I’m part of this task force. I don’t work for you and I don’t work for Congressman Church. I work for the federal government. And for the victims, for the People. I’m sorry if that bothers you.” She rose from her chair and pushed it tight against the table. “No, check that. I’m not sorry at all.”

VAIL WALKED OUTSIDE and descended the first flight of stairs directly ahead of her. She turned and leaned against the metal railing and looked up at the three flags blowing hard in the wind. The sky was now deep blue, a few barely visible clouds dotting the expanse. She closed her eyes and let the gentle breeze slink through her red hair.
This was supposed to be a vacation. What the hell was I thinking? All I can do is advise, I can’t make these people do the right thing.

She put her head back. The coolness of the evening’s arrival relaxed her, cleared her mind.

“You have a knack.”

Vail opened her eyes and spun around. Dixon was standing there. “A knack?”

“For pissing people off. I thought I was the only one.”

“Oh, no, I’ve perfected it.” Vail grinned, then let the smile fade. “I don’t do it on purpose. But I challenge people. I don’t hold back what I’m thinking. Good or bad, it’s who I am.” She took a deep breath and looked around. “I’m not trying to piss anyone off. This is something I know about and feel strongly about. I do have a knack, a kind of sixth sense, I guess. I don’t know how to describe it. I just understand these killers. It’s not like reading a textbook, like Fuller. I’ve seen it, I’ve been down in the trenches.”

“I hear you.”

“There’s a saying in my unit, one of our profilers started using it maybe a dozen years ago and it stuck: Knee deep in the blood and guts. That kind of describes what we do. After a while, you get dragged down in the muck, and you start to slog your way through it, and pretty soon you’re emotionally and physically stuck in it. And it affects you.” She stopped, thought a moment, then continued. “But more than that, you begin to see things you didn’t see before, have a better understanding of what you’re looking at when you see these behaviors. I’ve talked to these killers, I’ve sat a foot from their faces, I’ve asked them questions, I’ve made them cry. And in all those interviews, all these years, they add up to a deep understanding of who these ass-holes are. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but being inside their heads affected me.”

Vail pushed away from the railing, then checked her watch. She didn’t realize how late it was; Robby would be arriving in a few minutes. “Can you drop me at my B&B?”

“Where are you staying?”

“Mountain Crest, in St. Helena.”

Dixon looked back over her shoulder at the sheriff’s department building, as Fuller, Lugo, and Brix were walking through the door. The meeting had ended.

Dixon turned back. “Sure, let’s go. I live out that way anyway.”